Gerald Ford Sells 259,771 Shares of Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Stock

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) major shareholder Gerald Ford sold 259,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.98, for a total value of $9,866,102.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $298,788.66. This trade represents a 97.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Hilltop Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:HTH opened at $36.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.92. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.35 and a twelve month high of $40.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.99.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.23. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $217.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 30.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Hilltop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Hilltop by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,419,000 after buying an additional 7,302 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilltop by 32.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,247,000 after buying an additional 192,991 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Hilltop by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 762,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,477,000 after acquiring an additional 27,203 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 711,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,788,000 after acquiring an additional 194,287 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 647,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,623,000 after acquiring an additional 192,439 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings, Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.